Country Club Castelgandolfo

Few golf settings in Italy carry quite the gravity of Castelgandolfo. The town sits in the Castelli Romani hills southeast of Rome, perched above Lago Albano — a volcanic crater lake of startling blue — and has served for centuries as the papal summer residence. Playing golf here means moving through a landscape dense with history, where the views stretch toward Rome and the surrounding countryside rolls in the manner of ancient volcanic terrain softened by centuries of cultivation.

The Country Club Castelgandolfo is a resort course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., whose fingerprints on Italian golf are significant — he shaped several of the country's most distinguished layouts during the latter half of the 20th century. His characteristic strategic demands are present here: generous but contoured fairways, water brought meaningfully into play, and greens that reward precise approach angles over brute force.

As a resort destination within easy reach of Rome, the club draws both visiting golfers pairing a round with time in the capital and a loyal local membership from the city's outskirts. The setting does much of the heavy lifting — this is a course where the surroundings are very much part of the round.